]]>Today’s marketplace offers seemingly limitless options for every product and service—from food delivery apps, sneaker brands, beauty supplies and more. As a result, the ability to deliver a personalized customer experience has surfaced as a key competitive business advantage. This shift in importance is largely a result of the continued digital transformation that has effectively redefined priorities for businesses.

In order to differentiate a business or product in a crowded marketplace, CMOs have been tasked with “reinventing” or recreating a brand’s customer experience, with 45 percent of marketers leading customer experience programs at their companies. However, optimizing customer experiences in a way that appeals to audiences and establishes loyalty can be hard work and requires brands to truly understand their customers, including their behaviors, actions, emotions and motivations. Equipped with this insight, brands have the power to truly customize one-of-a-kind experiences for their customers.

How can brands uncover their customers’ truths? Here’s five strategies to improve the customer experience

Combine big and small data for optimal insights

In today’s world, the only way to deliver a customer experience that is truly personalized is to augment your big data with insights gained from small data. While big data reveals customer patterns and trends, it lacks insight into the motivators driving these trends. That’s where small data comes in.

Small data, such as a survey to get generalized findings or online quantitative research to deliver depth, provides the context needed to understand customers in their entirety. By combining these insights with big data, marketers can better predict what drives consumer behavior, as well as understand customers’ specific experiences with a brand, product or service. This holistic view enables marketers to inform strategy when it comes to customer experience.

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In the digital age with 24/7 instant access to information, it’s not uncommon for people’s opinions, preferences, views and loyalties to change. This is why the strategy around customer experience insights must be continuous and always-on.

To keep tabs on ever-changing preferences, opinions and sentiment, marketers must regularly engage with and listen to customers. By establishing a regular feedback loop and ongoing check-ins with customers, marketers are able to preempt and understand trends and changes in customer behaviors. This strategy enables marketers to better connect with audiences and create a higher quality customer experience.

Break down departmental barriers

The roles and relationship between the marketer and researcher are changing. While researchers were previously thought of as people who conducted studies in siloes, the growing importance of insights data has transformed their role. Researchers now work directly with all departments within an organization to drive transformation for the business. By sharing their expertise and knowledge, research professionals empower all departments to work with big and small data more effectively.

While the marketer and researcher differ from each other in terms of personality, style of work and methodology, together, they can work toward a common goal and learn from one another. For example, marketers tend to focus on big data and an automated approach to reach a large group of customers, while researchers, in comparison, analyze small data to better understand their audiences. When combined, these insights are invaluable.

Build a brand narrative from your customer insights

Brands are investing more and more marketing dollars to develop a unique message in an attempt to win customers. In 2018, companies were on track to spend an astonishing $207B on marketing and advertising in the US. Given the significant investment in building a brand narrative, it’ll be important for marketers to get it right.

For a narrative to resonate with customers, brands must create one that takes into account the behaviors, emotions and motivations of customers. With customer truths informing brand narratives, marketers can align the brand’s story with the customer’s in a way that establishes an emotional connection and encourages loyalty.

Align your brand narrative across the entire organization

Brand message dilution is estimated to cost enterprise organizations $10MM or more annually in lost revenue. This happens when internal teams within a company aren’t aligned on the brand narrative. A study from FocusVision and InnerView corroborated that this is often the case: 66 percent of marketing, customer experience and product management professionals believe there is a gap between what customers hear and what they experience with their company. Brands need to ensure that all departments share a consistent brand narrative, which comes from more than just an internal email from marketing to those on the frontline with customers.

]]>https://www.chiefmarketer.com/5-strategies-for-improving-customer-experience/feed/0Marketing Spending Getting Outpaced by R&D: Reporthttps://www.chiefmarketer.com/marketing-spending-getting-outpaced-by-rd-report/
https://www.chiefmarketer.com/marketing-spending-getting-outpaced-by-rd-report/#respondMon, 20 May 2019 20:52:27 +0000https://www.chiefmarketer.com/?p=257282Many companies used to spend almost equal amounts on R&D
and marketing, but that number has changed

]]>Many companies used to spend almost equal amounts on R&D and marketing. But today, R&D spending appears to be outpacing marketing expenditures by nearly 10 times.

A new article by Harvard Business Review notes that while public companies don’t have to disclosed their marketing budgets in financial statements, they do have to reveal their advertising spend. Looking at the percentages for advertising and R&D spending from 1975-2017, the authors found that these budget items were neck and neck until the late 1970s. Now, research and development has a bigger piece of the pie.

“Although marketing and advertising are distinct, advertising expenses could represent a firm’s commitment towards marketing as a discipline,” write the authors. “A firm with higher advertising expense is likely to have greater marketing commitment than a firm with smaller ad budget.”

The differences were gauged for small, medium and large sized enterprises. While the largest shifts were seen in the smallest companies, larger companies also showed a trend towards spending for engineering and tech. “This might represent the sign of times—no company is safe today and without innovating,” the authors said.

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There are likely several factors at play, according to academics Vijay Govindarajan, Shivaram Rajgopal, Anup Srivastava and Ye Wang. Some companies might be cutting down their advertising and marketing spending thanks to better analytics and tracking via online marketing, while others might be increasing their focus on viral marketing. Or, some companies may be growing via acquiring established brands that don’t need the marketing push of a start-up.

For companies that are increasing their marketing spend, technology is a key budget item. Forty-two percent of respondents to Chief Marketer’s 2019 B2B Marketing Outlook survey said their martech budgets would increase this year, and another 40 percent said theirs would hold steady. Only four percent saw a decrease on the horizon.

]]>https://www.chiefmarketer.com/marketing-spending-getting-outpaced-by-rd-report/feed/0Driving Results With Granular Measurementhttps://www.chiefmarketer.com/driving-results-with-granular-measurement/
https://www.chiefmarketer.com/driving-results-with-granular-measurement/#respondMon, 20 May 2019 20:04:29 +0000https://www.chiefmarketer.com/?p=257262Granular measurement enables marketers to evaluate individual channel performance,
and drill down to see the performance of each dimension within a channel.

]]>Marketers are no strangers to complexity, often managing multiple campaigns across a myriad of channels and ad networks, all at the same time, making measurement challenging.

The growing magnitude of data these campaigns produce require targeted measurement methods to help make sense of it all. Methods that can distill and process data at its most granular levels give marketers the most accurate and actionable insights that they can use to not only meet their department’s goals, but also help drive broader business objectives.

Benefits of granular measurement

Consumers’ attention spans are shorter than ever, giving marketers a fraction of a second to capture their attention. If something isn’t working, marketers need to know right away so they can make adjustments quickly, before losing potential customers to competitors. Using budget effectively is critical not only to driving results, but also to proving the value of marketing to the business.

But if marketers don’t know if a particular placement, keyword, creative message or other tactic drove a conversion, then they might be spending money in the wrong places. Granular measurement enables marketers to evaluate individual channel performance, and drill down to see the performance of each dimension within a channel. They can also test different offers and creative types to see what’s resonating with different audience segments and influencing them to act. Marketers can then use these insights to make more precise decisions and continuously rebalance spend to maximize results.

Granular measurement also provides the ancillary benefit of reducing the impact of online ad fraud. For instance, analyzing performance at the impression level enables marketers to verify traffic sources are valid. Bots and other fraudulent traffic may be able to simulate a page view or an ad click, but they can’t generate real conversions, such as completing a purchase with a payment. By comparing results across publishers, marketers can reallocate budget to the channels and tactics that are most effective at driving actual sales and revenue, while filtering out fraudulent placements at the same time.

Data at its most granular level gives marketers accurate and actionable insights. But taking advantage of its possibilities requires the right measurement approach. Not all measurement models use granular data. Marketing mix modeling, for example, uses summary level data combined with exogenous factors such as weather and holidays to produce high-level performance insights and budget allocation recommendations on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.

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Other approaches, such as multi-touch attribution, can parse performance at the finest levels and deliver accurate, up-to-date insights as often as every day. Multi-touch attribution collects and processes person-level data from addressable channels and assigns credit to tactical marketing activities according to their influence on driving a conversion or other desired success metrics.

Multi-touch attribution models that use an algorithmic methodology are the most accurate because they model person-level data at every level of a media hierarchy, from the impact of specific creative elements to the channel overall. Even when coverage gaps arise that limit access to critical interaction data, an algorithmic approach will take multiple factors into account for deriving credit and still produce accurate and actionable insights. Moreover, the output of an algorithmic model can be used to predict outcomes and help marketers plan and optimize future marketing efforts, which is essential to continuous improvement.

Measuring marketing and media performance at granular levels is a strategic benefit for any marketing organization. Using granular data to understand the impact of marketing and media tactics on conversions and other desired business outcomes helps marketers make more informed decisions. The key is ensuring that hard-earned granular insights are acted on and optimizations are put into market.

]]>https://www.chiefmarketer.com/driving-results-with-granular-measurement/feed/0Samsung Increases B2B Focushttps://www.chiefmarketer.com/samsung-increases-b2b-focus/
https://www.chiefmarketer.com/samsung-increases-b2b-focus/#respondMon, 20 May 2019 18:23:13 +0000https://www.chiefmarketer.com/?p=257244Samsung is increasing its focus on the SMB segment, for phones, tablets and other devices.

]]>The Executive Briefing Center is designed to help Samsung connect with B2B buyers.

Samsung is increasing its focus on the small and medium sized business (SMB) segment, for phones, tablets and other devices.

“SMB is a real battleground for us, but we’ve under-indexed there versus our main competition,” said Graeme Good, Samsung head of sales, in a report on MobileNews. “Trying to turn that around and over-perform is a key focus for us this year—so from a marketing and a channel point of view we’re really going to be driving that focus on the SMB business.”

Speaking at the Data Select Platinum Club, Good noted that Samsung’s UK B2B revenue rose by 20 percent last year. He put the UK’s B2B smartphone market at $3.18 billion US last year, with increases being driven by rising handset prices. SMB accounted for 72.5 percent of the UK B2B market.

Last month, to better connect with US B2B leaders, Samsung opened an Executive Briefing Center in Irvine, CA. The center is the third such facility for Samsung in the United States, and will help the company highlight new solutions.

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“This world-class center will be a space where we can highlight the latest in cutting-edge display technologies, designed to drive meaningful engagement and accelerate growth in business,” says Mario DiAntonio, team leader, B2B tech account management, Samsung Electronics America.

The Korea-based company is likely hoping such innovation will help brighten the financial picture for next quarter. For the first quarter, revenue fell 13 percent by year-on-year to 52.4 trillion KRW, approximately $45 billion, reported TechCrunch. Operating profit for Q1 was an impressive sounding $5.33 billion—a 60 percent drop from the same period in 2018.

]]>https://www.chiefmarketer.com/samsung-increases-b2b-focus/feed/0The Impact of Influencers on Hyper-Casual Gaminghttps://www.chiefmarketer.com/the-impact-of-influencers-on-hyper-casual-gaming/
https://www.chiefmarketer.com/the-impact-of-influencers-on-hyper-casual-gaming/#respondMon, 20 May 2019 16:50:49 +0000https://www.chiefmarketer.com/?p=257196While still a new frontier, influencer marketing has quickly become an big
part of a hypercasual game marketer’s acquisition strategy.

]]>The impact of influencer marketing on gaming is on the rise. Game companies spend roughly 30% of their revenue on marketing each year, creating a $41.37 billion market in 2018. About two percent of that spend (roughly $827 million) went to influencer marketing.

As we all know, influencer marketing overall is growing by leaps and bounds. Adweek estimates the influencer marketing industry to be worth $10 billion by 2020. In recent years, countless gamers have started live streaming their game performances, garnering millions of followers. These influencers have built up massive reach with engaged gaming and esports audiences who are interested in playing hyper-casual games.

According to Forbes, the highest-paid YouTuber of 2018 earned around $22 million. There was also an 86% increase in the number of Twitch streamers generating revenue. While still a new frontier, influencer marketing has quickly become an important part of a hypercasual game marketer’s acquisition strategy.

Influencers and Gaming

Influencers are often seen as relatable and credible because of how transparent they are with their viewers about their personal lives. In return, they have a stronger impact on a player’s intent-to-buy than “traditional” celebrities. According to HubSpot, 71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase after seeing a product reference on social media.

“Hyper-casual” games are lightweight games that have simple mechanics and are easy to start playing. How can influencers help promote these types of games?

Pre-Launch Promotions

Generate pre-registrations for a title by promoting the game before it’s launched. Companies can then re-market to registered users when the game comes to market. Use contests and giveaways to drive registrations.

Create a buzz around a game before the launch, get potential players excited.

Game Launches

Drive interest by introducing the game to the influencers’ audience by playing it for the first time, or by creating video tutorials that walk audiences through the best tips and tricks of playing your game.

Create sponsored video content for the launch that feels more authentic than advertising.

Post-Launch Promotions

Promote an old game to revive its popularity. For instance, distributing promo codes for a specific event works well for games, especially as it’s the best channel to connect directly to the community.

Showcase newly released features, game modes, characters, events and more.

Effective Influencer Channels

Once you’re ready to partner with gamers to promote your brand, how do you find them?

Gamers across the globe use lots of different platforms to connect, but the most popular for hyper-casual games are YouTube and Instagram. Over 1.3 billion people use YouTube; 5 billion videos are watched there every day and over 300 hours of video are uploaded to the platform every minute. Instagram has grown tremendously in just the past few years, now reaching over 1 billion monthly users with over 500 million actively engaged in Instagram stories every day. In fact, 95% of US Instagrammers also use YouTube, so it’s an opportunity to create a cohesive cross-platform campaign.

Making interesting content can be daunting, but that’s exactly where influencers can be most helpful. Many influencers have thousands of subscribers who get a notification every time they upload a new video. When you collaborate with these influencers, you can get access to this highly engaged audience. Your content also earns credibility due to the friendly rapport these influencers have with their fans. 60% of users seek out and discover new products on Instagram, and 75% will typically take action, like visiting a website and visiting the app store. Gaming influencers usually have their schedules visible on their profiles—in addition to maintaining social media accounts for promotions and networking—to generate visibility and interest ongoing.

Micro vs Macro Influencers for Gaming

Next, you’ll want to focus on sourcing the right movers and shakers for your hyper-casual game. When selecting an influencer for your campaign, you should take the following points into consideration:

Relevance: The influencer you choose to work with needs to be relevant to your game genre and demographics. Their gaming interests should align with your game. Only then will you be able to grab the attention of their subscribers.

Engagement: Reaching a large audience won’t be fruitful unless viewers engage with your content. Don’t be fooled by the high number of subscribers on an influencer’s YouTube channel. Take a closer look at the comments section of their videos, which will tell you how well their audience interacts with their content.

Experience: It is always better to collaborate with influencers who have worked on similar projects before. Their expertise and insights can further enhance your marketing campaign.

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Aside from this, the selection of your influencer will also depend on your budget and goals. For instance, if you want to target a more niche audience, working with micro-influencers can be extremely fruitful. They have a relatively small, yet highly engaged audience, and they are less expensive compared to those with millions of subscribers, which on the other hand, will be costly but will get you greater reach.

Regarding frequency of hiring an influencer, consider that if you make two videos with the same influencer, you will be reaching the exact same audience with the second video, likely with lower conversions. This is different than if you created a social ad campaign on Facebook, for instance, where its audience builder is continuously refreshing and searching for new lookalike audiences to show your ads.

Campaign Attribution

Tracking the results of influencer marketing campaigns poses some unique challenges, versus other more traditional marketing tactics like social advertising or search. For instance, historically, many marketers have admitted to not using trackable URLs in their influencer campaigns. Even if you are using trackable links, many users may go direct to the app store to download your title, appearing as organic installs, rather than clicking on the trackable link in the influencer’s description of their posted video. These are non-tracked installs, and it’s estimated that these may attribute to roughly ⅔ of all the conversions that you get from an influencer campaign.

Influencers can create a variety of engaging content for you to promote your hyper-casual game and acquire new players. In today’s world of Millenials and Gen Z, setting the best gaming and esports influencer marketing strategy is sure to help your hypercasual game win big.

]]>https://www.chiefmarketer.com/the-impact-of-influencers-on-hyper-casual-gaming/feed/06 Ideas for Marketing to Millennial Parentshttps://www.chiefmarketer.com/6-ideas-for-marketing-to-millennial-parents/
https://www.chiefmarketer.com/6-ideas-for-marketing-to-millennial-parents/#respondTue, 14 May 2019 13:24:51 +0000https://www.chiefmarketer.com/?p=256990Millennial parents look—and behave—differently than parents of
previous generations. Here's how to connect with them

]]>Eighty-two percent of babies born in 2016 are the children of millennial parents. For marketers, this means if they’re talking to parents, they’re talking to millennials.

It is important to consider that these moms and dads look—and behave—differently than parents of previous generations. They are marrying later, more ethnically diverse, more likely to be LGBTQ, more educated and dads are more involved.

Whether considering what they look like demographically, how they differ in their parenting approach, their relationship with content or their unique needs and expectations for the products they consume, millennial parents are a dynamic audience to understand and connect with.

Understanding what drives millennial parents can help marketers reach them more effectively. Consider these factors:

Millennial parents are passion-led. Millennial moms and dads continue to pursue their passion because they do not distinguish between “me time” and “we time” in the same way as previous generations. They prefer to engage in activities with their kids that aren’t necessarily kid-focused, so they too can pursue new interests. When deciding on things to do with their kids, three in five millennial parents agree “I don’t only think about kid specific activities.”

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TV is the “good screen.” Open Mind Strategy research shows that 62 percent of millennial parents say they’re very worried about the time their child will spend on their own devices, whereas 63 percent say they’d rather their kid watch TV than be online. But while they are pro-TV, they feel there is a lack of good TV content for families to enjoy together. Three in four millennial parents say when they’re watching TV with their kids, they usually end up watching kid shows they don’t really enjoy.

They trust their peers. Millennial parents are expert crowdsourcers who crave content and parenting answers tailored precisely to their personal situations. When they have a question, it’s not so much about turning to mom and dad or the neighbor anymore, because mom and dad’s perspective on childhood doesn’t look like the one they’re living with their kids. When it comes to sourcing answers online, they most appreciate advice from likeminded peers: 43 percent of of millennial parents regularly seek parenting advice via social networks.

Millennial parents still love Facebook. Although young generations are shifting from Facebook to Instagram to Snap Chat, with millennial parents there is still significant Facebook love, as it is one of the few social networks that brings the generations together. They can show-off to and connect with their own parents, their grandparents and their kids’ friends’ parents.

Their life is designed to display. Social networks in their original incarnation did reflect life experiences to some degree, but now there are whole rites of passage created by a social network world. The downside of so many displays of perfect parenting is that these perspectives can make them question your own. Millennial parents and can be very competitive, exhibiting unhealthy personal expectations. They obsess over minor details of daily life and 44 percent are overwhelmed with the amount of parenting information out there.

Being “on” all the time leads to stress. With the expectations of living a life perfect enough to display, it’s not surprising that this generation of parents is at the center of the anxiety economy. Fifty-two percent of millennial parents have recently bought something to contribute to their own self-care. Open Mind’s research found that more than 80 percent were hoping for a wellness or self-care-related gift over the holidays. Whether it’s meditation apps, aromatherapy products or CBD oils, millennial parents are constantly seeking products and experiences that offer “escape.”

]]>https://www.chiefmarketer.com/6-ideas-for-marketing-to-millennial-parents/feed/0GDPR and Email Overload Leads to Rise on LinkedIn Marketinghttps://www.chiefmarketer.com/gdpr-and-email-overload-leads-to-rise-on-linkedin-marketing/
https://www.chiefmarketer.com/gdpr-and-email-overload-leads-to-rise-on-linkedin-marketing/#respondMon, 13 May 2019 17:28:00 +0000https://www.chiefmarketer.com/?p=256930Many B2B sales organizations now use two to five LinkedIn
touches as part of their multichannel marketing process.

]]>Many B2B sales organizations now use two to five LinkedIn touches as part of their multichannel marketing process, according to a new report.

Forty-two percent of respondents to a recent survey by analysis firm TOPO are leveraging LinkedIn in this way. The increase in marketing via the B2B social network is on the rise, thanks both to increasingly overstuffed email in-boxes and the impact of GDPR guidelines, notes a recent article on ProlificLondon.

An overwhelming number of organizations that use account-based marketing—88 percent—say outbound is one of their most important B2B tactics, according to the TOPO research. Sixty-five percent of respondents said their sales dev reps report to sales, 23 percent said they answer to marketing and 12 percent to other departments.

Seventy-four percent of respondents to Chief Marketer’s annual B2B Outlook Survey said LinkedIn was their most effective social channel for B2B marketing, outpacing other channels such as Facebook (51 percent), Twitter (35 percent), Instagram (29 percent) and YouTube (24 percent).

More than 155 million U.S. workers have a profile on the social network. Marketers who succeed on LinkedIn makes sure they are engaging with other users, and don’t just talk at them, says Patrick King founder/CEO of Manassas, VA-based marketing agency Imagine. He advises asking questions and giving prospects a chance to talk about themselves.

“We’re all still people,” says King. “Turn the experience into something conversational. That’s one of the things often ignored in B2B.”

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Of course, not everyone is an all-in fan. Adrian Dayton recently suggested on Forbes.com that some professionals may want to consider deleting their LinkedIn presences, if they’re not going to put the time into keeping it fresh.

“If you don’t have the time to and check it on a regular basis, it’s not worth having the account,” wrote Dayton. “It’s difficult to maintain real relationships unless you make it a priority to interact regularly with them.”

People should consider whether LinkedIn really fits into the strategic focus of what they want to do with their career, he added. “It takes work and deliberate effort to be successful on LinkedIn and actually bring in business. The people that are successful on LinkedIn are going after it. If you aren’t willing to put in the time, then you may want to follow the advice that Hillary gave Donald during the last Presidential election cycle and ‘delete your account’.”

]]>https://www.chiefmarketer.com/gdpr-and-email-overload-leads-to-rise-on-linkedin-marketing/feed/0GDPR One Year In: How Are Marketers Doing?https://www.chiefmarketer.com/gdpr-one-year-in-how-are-marketers-doing/
https://www.chiefmarketer.com/gdpr-one-year-in-how-are-marketers-doing/#respondMon, 06 May 2019 19:22:37 +0000https://www.chiefmarketer.com/?p=256626Other than a lot more privacy pop-up notices for consumers,
what impact has GDPR really had since it went into effect last May?

]]>The first anniversary of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is May 25. Nearly one year later, have the stricter rules really made a difference for marketers and consumers?

Consumers are definitely seeing a lot more pop-up privacy notices online thanks to GDPR, but the astronomical fines the new regulations threatened haven’t surfaced as of yet, reports CNBC.

GDPR gave individuals in the EU much greater control over the data, including the right to demand that companies reveal how their data is being used, and to ask corporations to destroy their data. But as Laura Jehl, a partner at law firm BakerHostetler told CNBC, consumers are often confused about how they can take advantage of the new laws.

“In the beginning, a number of [EU] regulators informally said ‘we know you guys aren’t ready for GDPR, and to be honest, we’re not really ready either,’” said Jehl.

That grace period will likely end soon, and companies will start to see enforcement begin, said Odia Kagan, chair of the GDPR compliance program at Fox Rothschild.

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“The higher fines are very likely going to be in connection with very large companies with very complex structures,” said Kagan. “We haven’t seen them because they aren’t done yet.”

Indeed, the majority of the EU’s regulatory agencies simply aren’t equipped with enough staff to deal with GDPR. “I still feel like unless there is a very significant increase in staffing, they are probably going to have to pick and choose the enforcement actions that they bring,” said Kagan.

Some retailers have been reluctant about getting in line with GDPR, due to both the cost of compliance and a fear of losing data essential to their business, Lucas Wojcik, CISO at Productsup said in a Q&A with Digital Journal.

“Many retailers don’t have a good understanding of the GDPR requirements or know how to implement changes into their processes to achieve compliance,” said Wojcik. “Rather than allocate the money and time to ensure their companies are abiding by the regulations, retailers would rather run the risk of exposing themselves to a breach.”

]]>When brands like Gillette, PUMA, Chipotle, Toyota, Mastercard and State Farm ink partnerships with esports, everybody wants to get in the game.

Nielsen reports that there has been a 13 percent growth in the share of non-gaming related brand sponsorship involvement year-over-year from categories like restaurants, automobiles, financial services insurance, and others. Brands are transitioning traditional budgets to esports as opportunities to reach young audiences in tradtional channels shrink while digital entertainment choices are growing fast.

Gillette, for example, signed on as the official partner of the live streaming video portal Twitch, and was on hand earlier this month at the first TwitchCon to be held outside North America. The brand not only hosted the Gillette Gaming Alliance, an international team of 11 well-known Twitch streamers, but also offered visitors the chance for meets and greets. In addition to its booth, which spanned more than 100 square meters, a shaving station was available to GGA members and fans that stopped by. Then, there were rounds of promotions and free samples of Gillette Fusion ProGlide Flexballs.

To help sponsors and partners navigate the esports ecosystem, Nielsen has released an Esports Playbook for Brands that includes a snapshot of the ecosystem and an informed view on how brands are successfully interacting with various rights holders and fans.

Another brand, Mastercard, became the first global sponsorship partner in 2018 for Riot Games as the exclusive global payment services partner for League of Legends eSports events. Mastercard has activated on a number of fronts including at three global events, in 10 countries with unique promotional programs, “Priceless” surprise giveaways, Worlds Opening Ceremony, pop-up experiences and other promotions.

“While many global brands have to stay true to their core message—for us, that is connecting people to Priceless possibilities—there should be an understanding that you will need to adapt to this audience and their consumption behaviors in order to engage with them in a meaningful way,” Emily Neenan, VP, global marketing and sponsorships at Mastercard told Nielsen.

● 90 percent of U.S. esports fans on Twitch can name at least one non-gaming related sponsor in esports.
● 70 percent of U.S. esports fans on Twitch spend more time interacting with esports versus traditional sports
● 664+ million total hours viewed of the top 10 streamers on Twitch from March 2018 – February 2019, according to SuperData Arena.

“Esports fans around the world include some of the hardest-to-reach consumers for brands through traditional media—they’re young, digital natives who are also cutting cords and blocking ads at rapid rates. Esports allows brands to reach these fans while they’re engaging with their number one entertainment passion point: video games,” says Nicole Pike, managing director, Nielsen eSports.

]]>Marketers with high measurement maturity earn approximately $4 for every dollar they spend on marketing measurement, according to a new study.
Marketing leaders generate about 3 percent more leads.

The study drilled down to 51 companies that have high measurement maturity. Those 51 companies comprise 17 percent of the 300 marketing, data and analytics decision-makers at U.S. enterprises across more than 10 industries that have active marketing performance strategies.

Those with high maturity are considered leaders that produce accurate, unified and actionable insights applied strategically as well as tactically. They stand apart from peers in critical performance metrics, the study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Equifax.

For marketers striving to improve measurement, Forrester found that on average, marketing leaders:

• Earn approximately $4 for every dollar they spend on marketing measurement• Secure more than $73 million in additional revenue; about a 3 percent increase in revenue overall• Generate nearly 3 percent more leads• Decrease their marketing spend by more than $2 million• Increase their Net Promoter Score by more than 7 points• Better match offline sales to their digital marketing efforts

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“While most companies still struggle with holistic measurement maturity, leaders pull ahead of the pack with their efficiency in managing data, better insights and less wasted spend, resulting in more targeted campaigns and better acquisition conversions. Their CMOs are focused on campaign improvement, they own their data, and they leverage it more effectively,” said Mykolas Rambus, general manager, Equifax DDM.

Other findings include:

Leaders use more measurement techniques. While all marketing leaders use unified measurement, they also more heavily use tools such as mix modeling and advanced digital attribution. Still, less than half of companies surveyed (43 percent) use unified measurement, or what Forrester calls the “most mature approach to measurement,” leading to varied levels of accuracy for firms.

Leaders’ No. 1 goal is customer insights. Marketing measurement leaders do a better job focusing on optimizing and getting the most out of their campaigns. Leaders optimize the targeting of campaigns (65 percent), manage more contextual (54 percent) or personalized (48 percent) marketing and gain better customer insights (52 percent). Their peers focus on more tactical efforts such as customer targeting, forecasting and planning.

Leaders are better at data integration. Successful data integration provides a better understanding of the customer journey and is key to campaign success for leaders, who integrate online and offline data at a far higher rate. Around 63 percent of leaders have integrated their digital and offline channels, while 87 percent have integrated their digital channels alone.

Leaders leverage more data. A full 75 percent of leaders use both customer ID and regular data, vs. around 50 percent for their peers. Leaders use far more demographic data (58 percent) and leverage more types of data including CLV, digital media performance and direct response. These investments in marketing measurement drive across-the-board efficiency improvements as teams are more effective with proper insights.

Marketing measurement is ripe for investment. Firms are clearly seeing the benefit of increasing the percentage of their budget allocated to measurement. By 2020, marketers expect measurement will make up 10 percent of their overall marketing budget, up from 5 percent two years ago—doubling over four years.